[Thursday, 19 May 2016, The Equestrian 18th Day of Love at Canterlot Castle.]

It was late into the morning in Celestia’s throne room as the large doors opened so Flash Sentry could make his announcement.

“Now arriving. Princess Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship. Also arriving. Human ambassadors, Sir Benjamine Yale and Sir Christopher Breslin, accompanied by Starlight Glimmer.”

It was a long walk from the doors to the throne. Hell, it was a long walk to just about anywhere in the castle, but Benny was certainly taking his sweet-ass time with his slow, small steps. Although, his attitude sounded positive and chipper.

“Good morning, Princess… Sorry. I’m moving a little slow today… Tried to outrun Water Bug this morning… Ow… I might as well have tried to lower the sun myself while I was at it.”

If anything, Benny’s sunny demeanor was a positive addition to Celestia’s day, and she returned his greeting just as warmly as she bowed.

“Good morning to you as well, Sir Benjamin. It warms my heart to hear you’re new daughter still sounds to be healthy. And in good spirits, I imagine?”

Given Benny’s slow pace, Twilight trotted ahead of the group, happy to give her take on the situation.

“Water Bug appears to be in excellent health, and she seems to raise the spirits of all the other children around her… And while we have a lot to still understand about her biology, at least we have no reason to question her allegiance.”

Chris, not as limited in motion but still far worse for wear in his current condition, left Benny to walk on his own and joined Twilight with Starlight at his side. He also had some favorable opinions to share about the changeling’s recent addition to the group.

“That kid has been stuck to Benny’s side like white on paper. The only time I see them apart is when she plays with the other kids. It’s funny because I think between her and Smolder, Button is having a hard time deciding on which one to play favorites with.”

Finally, Benny made it to the group, though the discomfort in his legs fought equally with the proud smile on his mug, prompting Celestia to ask another general question. Although to be more formal and show respect where it was due, she directed her attention to Twilight.

“It sounds as though things are coming along rather well for all of you in Ponyville. As for this morning, however, was the welcome committee at the train station acceptable? I would have been there myself had I not been dealing with other responsibilities. I'm sure you agree that I provide my presence here in the Castle. Of which, I will provide an update once we begin. Plenty of good news to share, I assure you.”

Despite the time that had gone by and the favors exchanged between the two royals, there was still a dark cloud that brewed between Twilight and Celestia. It was no secret between the two, though neither openly spoke of it. Yet, Twilight could tell Celestia was doing her best to placate their relations in these formal settings with honor and respect, befitting her position as an equal finally.

To that, Twilight would return the gesture with equal gratitude and grace.

“I understand the Royal Guard as a whole has been strained as of late. None more so than your Solar Guard. So, to see them posted at the station to welcome and escort us to the castle was most appreciated, as we understand the additional burden it likely caused you. Otherwise, even with my only remaining pegasi Twilight Guard watching over Peter, I feel safer knowing that you remain close by in case anything were to happen. As for the good news, I presume it will fall in line with letters I’ve received from both Sergeant Major Cutter and Sergeant Swift Sails that all security, health, and comfort requirements have been either met or exceeded.”

Far be it from Chris not to be clueless about some of the more subtle notions of power dynamics between political leaders or women in general when they weren’t exchanging death glares or spitting venom… but something felt off with the over-sanitized exchanged between those two mares in front of him. Their words were too clean, soft, and well-spoken while not delivered with any sense of genuine empathy or depth. It reminded him of sitting in a courtroom and listening to lawyers speak true statements without conviction to win over a judge.

He wasn’t sure what was happening or why the exchange now felt so uncomfortable to be in the middle of, but there was other business to attend to and a table set up for them to conduct their discussions.

“Great,” Chris spoke up, breaking the hopefully non-tension of the room, and motioned his way to the table. “We have a lot to get through, and there might be a lot I think we need to discuss together to help me best break down what I was asked to uncover for you. A lot of it is still theory, but I think you’re still going to want to hear it.”

It didn’t take long for the small group to get situated at the small table. A few papers were passed around, some coffee, and Celestia setting the stage.

“In today's meeting, I hope to continue our strong relationship. Benny, as the head delegate and lead ambassador for all humans, I wanted you present for what would be discussed today, as well as ensure all precautions are taken to ensure the safety of your new daughter. Chris, as legal counsel for… Are we sure Stranded Seven is still the best name?”

Benny shrugged without a care, but his grin said he clearly found some amusement in the title, if not Celestia’s reaction.

“For now. Branding and public relations is all Sniff, and we’re not changing anything without him.”

That was a good enough reason as any, so Celestia continued.

“Yes, of course. Well, Chris, aside from the legal counsel, you are also by far the most knowledgeable in terms of Equestrian intelligence and theory. The primary focus of today's meeting will be to discuss your findings over recent events and suggestions for future plans.”

Benny and Chris weren’t the only two guests in Celestia’s company, so additional formalities were to be presented.

“Princess Twilight, aside from some political theater at play involving Mister Husk in the Crystal Empire, none of which you are to be blamed for—”

Hearing Cerb’s name dropped with the addition of political problems, Benny’s posture and aura sent off an alarm that Twilight leaned in with an extended hoof to quickly address.

“Princess, if you would, please. That is a subject I would like to save for the end of our meeting today. And Benny, Chris, please. Cerb is fine. He hasn’t done anything wrong, and he’s not in any kind of trouble. We do have some concerns about his care while he’s away and would like to ask you a few questions about how best to provide his care and address his needs after discussing what we originally came here for, which is why I am also still here. I’m still in charge of overseeing your care and protection. If there were any immediate concerns, I would have brought them to your attention.”

That seemed to calm the room, but if not, Celestia moved on to the last pony at the table.

“Thank you, Twilight. And Starlight, as Twilight’s pupil and guardian as well as a committed partner to Chris, we thought it best to have you along to assist him in any manner as you have previously through all these ordeals. Many of which will likely be discussed. So, Chris, if you would like to begin.

Finally, all the attention was put back on Chris, and the tension died down again.

“Well, to start things off, Crystal Rose helped to clear a few things up, but we still don’t know why we specifically were the humans selected to come here. For all we know, it could have just as likely been as much of a random draw or as much of a choice made based on our Order, whatever that really is, and not who we are as people. After talking to Benny a lot more and the bit I was able to with Cerb before you left, we don’t believe there were any fate-driven forces behind our actions that led us to where we are now. Not in the same way Harmony was manipulating any of you or however many other Equestrians.”

Simply mentioning Harmony or her manipulation soured the mood for both Twilight and Celestia, but Chris expected as much. There was no avoiding it, but that was the discussion to be had and one of the many topics to cover. So, knowing there was more to cover, he pressed on.

“Knowing that, and now understanding her motivations, that brings up some discrepancies I didn’t fully realize until after everything settled down and I was able to look into things more closely and read some of the reports provided.”

Chris turned his eyes directly toward Celestia, letting her know he was now addressing her.

“One thing, in particular, confused me the night we fought Harmony that you told me. Just like how Twilight didn’t go through the mirror to the human world to fight Sunset Shimmer in the series, you mentioned something you and Discord did that didn’t match up with the show The Words are based on.”

Celestia and Twilight both turned to Benny, who was intensely focused on Celestia, looking heavily concerned, if not utterly lost.

“What?” Benny asked. “I’ve been busy trying to be a dad and working with Aspen, Novo, and Luna when I can. And that’s between trying to get my house fixed and trying to get back into fighting shape. I’m behind on everything except taking care of Water Bug. I got nothing on this. Chris hasn’t told me anything.”

The reactions were something Starlight had anticipated, given how she first had to have Chris’s findings explained to her. At this point, though, there was no reason going any further without first casting a spell that gave them all the privacy they needed.

So, without much effort, a faint aura from Starlight’s horn grew and then dimly flashed over the interior of the room, granting them complete protection from any unwanted listeners.

“Please pardon the privacy spell, but this is going to be very hard to take in, if not even harder to explain. We haven’t told any other creature, not even you, Benny. And Celestia, we apologize for not notifying you sooner, but at the night of the dinner at Twilight’s, we… discovered…”

This was indeed going to be difficult to explain and an even more daunting task to admit that Celestia had been left out of the knowledge for days on end. So, Chris laid his bandaged hand on Starlight’s hoof and started to take over.

“Princess… Trixie Rose refused to tell us just about anything of The Words or any future plans the other echoes had for any version of Equestria. What we did discover, though, is that there is a link between what we know as the show that is based on your world and The Words. And part of it makes sense, but a lot of it doesn’t make sense to me, because now I can’t explain it.”

For all the beating around the bush, Celestia knew it had to be bad news. However, she’d suffered enough bad news as it was, and drawing out the final blow wasn’t going to soften its landing as far as she was concerned.

“Just—” She broke from her words to give a heavy sigh and lowered her head to her hooves in a look of defeat. “Whatever it is you have to say. Just say it already. We all are busy and our time is limited. If we are to dispense with pleasantries, then I prefer we complete our business and let our kind words be exchanged naturally over things we care about in our personal lives and not our responsibilities to others.”

That was a fair point, so instead, Twilight decided to break the bad news on this one.

“The Words were not simply instructions for Harmony or the echoes to follow or manipulate us. The Words were also the scripts used to create the shows, comics, and possibly other mediums for content based on us from their human world.”

Again, Chris jumped in to try and better explain.

“Trixie Rose verified it when we showed her a few of the episodes on a copy of my phone. She said that everything matched up to The Words as she understood them. She even verified that events that happened in the comics based on the show happened, but that’s where things get more confusing, and I’m more confused by The Words or how the show would be in line with them.”

Somehow, for only now hearing this theory, Benny thought he had a good grasp of the situation, which led him to question Chris’s confusion.

“No… That explains it. The Words are the words to the show. Harmony was trying to make this world recreate how the show was supposed to happen, but something was going to interfere with the script, so we were brought here to—”

“No,” Chris interjected, shaking his head at the misunderstanding. “Forget the darkness and us being brought here for a moment. The Words are the show. Okay, I’d buy that. The comics, that’s harder to buy, because, and I know this only because I never really read them because of the problem the other fans had with them… they’re not all canon.”

Already, all eyes were hyper-focused on Chris again, but he didn’t want to deal with the bull shit that was coming his way.

“I know, I know. We had this discussion on day one. But Trixie Rose made it clear that even when she was a Harmony for her world, that not everything was understood what was supposed to happen based on The Words. She said there were contradictions, and she had to figure out what were… I don’t remember exactly how she said it, but if events in the comics were supposed to be part of The Words, then I get it. Because even the creators admitted that not all of the comics were canon if they conflicted with the show’s material—And I know that’s fucking stupid, but that’s what happened.”

For a moment, no one at the table spoke to try and question what Chris had explained. As the sole source of that knowledge, they had no grounds to challenge it.

That, of course, allowed him to collect his thoughts to move on to another point.

“Now, three other problems exist that I know of, so far, that confuse me, outside of the Darkness prophecy or me, Benny, and the rest of our friends being brought here.”

In all likelihood, there were still many questions to be asked, but Chris still held their attention.

“This world,” Chris said, sounding like he was questioning his own words as he spoke them. “—has things… ponies in it… that technically it shouldn’t. Some I can’t write off because I wouldn’t know if they existed or not, but others I do because I know enough of the source material… And Twilight, I know I told you weeks ago, but Cream Heart shouldn’t exist here. She’s a fan-made character. She’s never been part of the show, but neither has the Twilight Guard.”

Upon saying that, Benny’s quick wit kicked in.

“Well, maybe we caused that to happen sooner than it was supposed to, like we did with the six kids coming together.”

At first, Chris nodded along, looking like he was in agreement, then raised his bandaged right hand and pointed to Benny, shaking it gently to signal some message of approval.

“You know, I totally had that same thought in mind. Which is another point I will get to, but the Twilight Guard made me remember something about the Royal Guard and how it's divided in the show.”

Again, he looked at Celestia and returned his hand to the table.

“Where I come from, everyone points out the difference in the color of the armor worn by guards here to tell if they’re either in the Solar Guard or the Lunar Guard, but they’re never called either of those names. They’re always called Royal Guards. Not Solar or Lunar. So, it’s not just The Words that were the script of the show that Harmony and the echoes were hearing. However, coming into point number two… The Words project beyond what we could have known to create any of the episodes, comics, fan-made shit, anything… They knew things, things that by all rights, to us, would have been future events.”

Saying that out loud, Chris had to restate something about his theory.

“Okay, and now, if it was a prophecy, then that would mean they would know the future. But if it were based on content about the show as I know it to be, and somehow took in non-canon material, it doesn’t explain why the Equestria Girls split didn’t happen, why all the Mane Six still had their Elements to use when we got here, or why Discord never knew where the Tree of Harmony was.”

For some reason, Twilight gave Chris a look that questioned his statements. Her tone was also just as questionable when she spoke.

“How could Discord have known? He never went down there before. Celestia and Luna did over a thousand years ago when they first discovered the Elements of Harmony. Then it was rediscovered by Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and myself when the Everfree threatened to overtake Equestria. And no matter how reformed Discord was, we knew better than to let him know where the Tree of Harmony was located.”

Twilight had stated her claim like it was a reaction, but just as quickly had a change in expression as if she had said something out of line.

“And by that, I’m sure I mean that Harmony had wanted us to believe that we couldn’t trust Discord enough to know where the tree was located.”

Her expression looked to drop slightly, and everyone could empathize with the loss his sacrifice meant.

“We knew he wanted to find out and often tried to ask around the topic, but we never would say. Even after Tirek nearly defeated us and stole Discord’s magic, he was too weak to follow us so we could retrieve our Elements of Harmony.”

Without Becky in the room and Benny only moderately familiar with the show, Chris was the only one there to see where some of the major flaws in this world were originating from.

“That’s… No. That’s not how it was supposed to happen. The vines that took out Harmony and saved us a few days ago should have appeared about two years ago. What happened that made you go into the Everfree Forest to save the Tree of Harmony made you lose your Elements?”

For the first time, Chris’s advanced knowledge of the Equestrian world appeared to have not only fallen short but was completely out of sync with their reality, leaving Twilight uncertain in her response.

“We’d never seen those vines that Discord raised up to fight Harmony before, but it’s not the first time vines had been used to attack her… or at least when we only knew her as the Tree of Harmony. The same potion Blackthorn gave Gilda to use that created magic inhibiting vines had been used on the Tree of Harmony once before, about two years ago. It happened after… Well… it’s a long story.”

Benny and Chris did their best to follow along with the bat-shit crazy story that Twilight had retold, which Benny was struggling to recant in a condensed version.

“So… a bunch of minotaurs decide to build an amusement park where a portion of the Everfree Forest was and employ a bunch of ponies to work for them. The deer kin live in the Everfree, so it’s their home that’s getting messed with, and it’s disturbing the balance of the forest, habitats, and deforestation. Classic environmental protection plot line… But then they kidnap King Aspeen’s kid, force him into a contract to be the park's mascot, which is already illegal as hell, as far as I can tell… But King Aspen makes a deal to trade places with his son to spare him the shame instead of just claiming jurisdiction and arresting… No… I’m blaming Harmony on that one.”

It hadn’t been said, but for all the poor choices made and failure to execute logic at the time, neither Twilight nor Celestia could bring themselves to say as much.

Either way, Benny wanted to make sure he had it all down.

“Regardless. Then it ended in an all-out brawl between all of you fighting alongside the deers and a bunch of animals and monsters from the forest that Fluttershy talked into joining you to… almost… fight the minotaurs and construction crews off… Because you didn’t need to fight them when their industrial-sized barrels of smoothie mix, combined with the deer's vine-growing potion, made the vines and forest grow back faster and stronger than before?”

It was ridiculous, and Twilight knew it. And yet… that had been her life.

“Yes… King Aspen was grateful to have his forest back and was even kind to us afterward… Mostly... Rarity and Pinkie had caused some friction along the way. Again, though… let’s blame that on Harmony. Rarity isn’t normally so distracted, and Pinkie is… still the same… Nonetheless, shortly after we spread the potion mixture throughout the Everfree Forest.”

Twilight sighed, showing that this portion of the story was more strenuous to recall.

“We thought something happened to King Aspen again, but he ended up having the same problem. The whole forest was. It started forcing some of the more dangerous creatures out and even affecting the weather around us. So… we summoned Discord, thinking it was him that was to blame.”

Having lost Discord, it was obvious why bringing this up must have bothered Twilight, though she continued to tell the story, even if it appeared to hurt while doing so.

“King Aspen was angry that we returned Discord from his stone prison and refused to work with us after that. That’s largely the reason he was so difficult to work with when you first met him. Discord, however, said that he wished he could have taken credit for the vines but that they weren’t his. Although, the way he spoke the whole time, looking over the vines like he was… not surprised, but maybe disappointed, nervous even, but we all thought he was hiding something. He did, however, suggest that I speak with Zecora to discover why it was all happening again.”

Finally, this started sounding familiar to Chris.

“Did Zecora make you turn a purple potion to white so you could see back when Luna became Nightmare Moon and—”

No matter his good standing with any of the ponies, royals included, Chris did not want to say the wrong thing about Celestia’s relationship with her sister.

Thankfully, Celestia was in no position to call foul on anyone pointing out the harsh truths of her past.

“Yes. From what Twilight and I discussed afterward, Twilight explained in depth of what she saw in her visions. It was, in fact, the night my sister became Nightmare Moon, and I was forced to banish her. Another vision showed my sister’s and I’s final conflict with Discord, which turned him to stone, as well as the Tree of Harmony, the Elements of Harmony, and that even with the Elements removed, the Tree would continue to control all that grew there in the forest.”

If Celestia had said her piece on that portion, Chris figured he could summarize the rest.

“Then, after that, Twilight and her friends went into the forest to find the tree, but they said you should go back so you would be safe. You talked to Discord when you got back to town, and he sent you back to help your friends. They saved you from some vines that sprayed some mist at you. Then you gave up your Elements back to the Tree to remove the vines covering it, just as those vines wrapped you up and nearly stopped you. Finally, with the vines removed, Celestia and Luna were freed. Then the treasure box that held your castle was revealed.”

Celestia turned her attention to Twilight, then back to Chris, where her concern was plainly on her face.

“Chris, we have sought your council because of the knowledge you possess and your ability to access future plans and tactics through your understanding of our history and how it shapes our present and future… but this is the most inaccurate depiction of events from our past you’ve shared with us.”

That was true, but perhaps a bit too much for Twilight’s tastes, who spoke up in a more apologetic tone.

“Not that you’re completely wrong about everything. It’s everything from me running into Discord again to saving Harmony and Celestia, and Luna. That didn’t all happen exactly the way you said it did. I actually—”

Poof!

In a swirl of magic, a scroll dropped down in front of Celestia and bounced in between everyone seated at the table.

Immediately, Celestia noticed the seal binding the scroll and spoke to apologize for the interruption.

“Oh, my. Pardon the interruption, but perhaps we can take a break for a moment. This story will take a while to tell, so if you like to take this time to stretch or freshen up, I should also read this.”

Everyone eyed the scroll, now taking notice of Cadance’s seal wrapping up the paper, prompting Celestia to explain.

“I doubt Cadance would write to me unless it were important… unless it was about Rarity or Fluttershy again.”

[Over in the Crystal Empire.]

Cadance stood staring at the entrance to her room from the hall. The aura from her horn now faded along with the spell she finished casting, leaving her to sigh.

“I’m sorry, Fleetfoot,” she mournfully whispered to herself. “Celestia had to know… I just hope you’re doing alright.”

Once she was sure her nerves had been steadied, she opened the door and led her way inside, cautious of what she’d find and what she’d say.

“Good afternoon,” she softly greeted the silent room as she stepped closer to the bed. “I can only imagine the morning you’ve all had… Should I put in a request for lunch, or is now not a good time?”

Cerb still sat with his back inclined over a mound of pillows and holding Fleetfoot against his side while she slept. Thunder lay next to Cerb, searching, turning her attention to Fleetfoot while Cerb's eyes met Cadance with a sympathetic glance, and he answered just as quietly.

“I think we can do with a meal… I’ll have her eat when she wakes up.”

Cadence looked down at Fleetfoot, completely out of it, sound asleep with a foreleg slumped over Cerb's waist and her mouth agape as she audibly drew breath.

"She?"

Cerb didn't have to guess the question Cadance was going to ask, not answer it. But when Thunder would do that for him.

"She barely slept last night, from what we could get her to tell us. Other than she's broken, that is, the poor girl. We had to cut her off from drinking so much, but she didn't stay awake much longer after that anyway."

Cadence took a neutral stance by the side of the bed, looking over the sleeping mare. It was so saddening to see her in this state now that she knew the extent of the injuries.

"We knew things were bad for her. Now, she may end up in Cloudsdale to finish up her treatments before she is officially retired… They have clinics that specialize in pegasi injuries and recovery."

As soon as Cerb heard those words, something inside him stirred loose that he hadn't in many years.

"What would it take to get her back in?"

To answer this, Cadance went from standing to sitting at the bedside.

"Justin… I knew Fleefoot's injuries were bad and that they would affect her career. I was hoping that they would only be bad enough to keep her from performing. She wouldn't have been a Top Bolt any longer, and I would have counted on you to keep her spirits up for that… But at least then, I could have kept her here longer without raising any suspicion."

She stared over the mare, imagining all the good she could have done for the empire, or at least for Cerb.

"I can't keep her here. Not Spitfire, either… And now Celestia knows of the current prognosis for Fleetfoot. And if she receives orders to be transferred out to Cloudsdale, Spitfire will have to accompany her out like she did to get here. Nothing can keep her in the Wonderbolts other than being the best flier… and no pony sees that happening. Her injuries were too much for anyone to heal… I hoped you could have done more since Becky could not, but we have to accept that we all have our limits.”

Perhaps that was true, but there were other methods available that Cerb had yet to attempt. Although they only worked in theory and his previous cases, he knew there could be repercussions. Potential downfalls to full exposure to his Order could potentially weaken a body as well as strengthen it from what he was told.

“Yeah… maybe, but if possible, when everything is said and done, Fleetfoot did right by us. I don’t want to leave her out in the cold. I can put her to work.”

“Justin—”

“I was discharged once, too,” Cerb quickly fired back, though he spoke in a sad tone of defense. “I wasn’t fit for duty. Couldn’t run, couldn’t fight, couldn’t walk… took me some time, and they still wouldn’t take me back when I could fight again… Let me help her if they won’t.”

Cadance looked at the two. Part of her knew she was going to ruffle some feathers if she made any moves to keep Fleetfoot when, and if, any orders came for her to move. And yet, something emanating from Cerb made it feel wrong to try and separate them. She could even feel herself growing warmer and closer the more she appealed to Cerb’s protective nature.

“You are in luck… Not all of the tests have been completed, and the prognosis for Fleetfoot’s degree of recovery is only preliminary. I’m sure I can find ways to help drag out more tests and therapies to prolong her stay. Perhaps even find a way to help her recover fully, if not exhaust all of her remaining time in service until her retirement has taken effect without her even leaving the Empire. However, if we are to make such plans, I would prefer we start immediately.”

That sounded promising enough, and Cerb wasn’t about to squander a golden opportunity.

“Wake her up, sober up, lunch, and plan?”

Cadence grew a smile and stood up.

“Sounds like a lovely idea. Thunder, could you please send for the kitchen to prepare us all something light and… well, even if they protest, another serving of last night’s stew would be delightful. Then, when you get back, assist Justin with getting ready. With Spitfire still out, I’m afraid I’ll be taking care of Fleetfoot.”

[High Above The Outskirts of the Crystal Empire.]

"Push it down harder!" Rainbow screamed. “Stop slipping down in with the current! Rely on your hooves if you can’t feel it with your body!”

The pressure was building again, the cold air growing denser as they pushed the current farther toward the snow below them.

Try as Spitfire might, she sadly was far too out of practice with this level of weather control, and her flight suit’s insulation made it harder to feel out her surroundings.

“I can’t!” She grunted. “It keeps slipping and pushing me back!”

Rainbow fought through the dense air and strong gusts to loom behind Spitfire and examine all the mistakes her apprentice was making.

"Stop trying to push the current forward!" She yelled over the winds. "You can't! It's too big! Focus on pushing it over! The high-pressure system will drive itself forward!"

Spitfire shifted her position, angling her wings to push the air down more instead of ahead of her like she was before.

The air shifted heavily, rolling in on itself, pulling more of the surrounding air around her. It felt much like a wave in the ocean crashing down in front of her, drawing her in closer. She almost lost her balance until Rainbow’s hoof reached out and pulled back on her mane.

"Woah, there! Don't lean in farther than your center of balance!"

The sudden yank nearly had Spitfire backhoof Rainbow. However, as the high pressure finally shifted with Rainbow’s wings driving the rest of the turbulent wings down, the roll of the current picked up to a near-violent degree, making Spitfire’s heart rate jump at how close she came to getting sucked in.

“What the hell, Rainbow!”

Rainbow, sounding a little too proud at the moment, started to explain over the roaring winds.

“We did it! Cold air currents travel a lot faster down these air streams than warm air currents can travel up! If you’re not careful and lean too far into them, they’ll pull you down with them! Now, come on! We gotta see if the rest of the winds will follow along!”

Both Spitfire and Rainbow started to fly higher into the thinning, less frigid air, where Rainbow really started to relax.

“Fuck me blue. You have no idea how much harder that was on my own, and I couldn’t even get it done. Now all we have to do is make sure the cold front will start to deviate further east.”

As they rose higher, Spitfire looked over her shoulder to see where they would be observing to see the rolling white clouds pouring over the mountain’s crest.

“Hey! Look! They’re starting to turn!”

Rainbow made a quick turn in her flight to face the mountain’s heights behind her. As claimed by Spitfire, the white clouds that had been slowly rolling straight down into the valley below toward the shielded empire were now drifting further east and away from causing additional potential harm.

“Oh, yeah! Totally called it! Now, this is only a small change in the northern climate, which shouldn’t affect anything north of probably… maybe a little more warming air into Manehatten’s weather team or pushing colder air toward Trottingham. I doubt it would have enough strength to affect anything across the Celestial Sea to affect Griffonstone or any of their territories. Even still, I’ll have to write up my report to show…”

As Rainbow had been following the trail of clouds along their new path, something about their unusual weather phenomenon began to look far more unnatural towards the peaks of Mount Everhoof. Something that Spitfire felt required to call out from what she could see through her aviator goggles.

“Uh, Dash? Are those clouds supposed to be coming out of Mount Everhoof?”

Unlike the pristine, smooth, and soft arctic clouds that had been rolling in from around the mountain's lower crests, these new clouds were dark and appeared to form out from the mountain itself. The odd sight left Rainbow scratching her head.

“What the fuck? That’s… That’s not natural. That’s not even natural in the areas of nature we can’t control.”

Suddenly getting an idea, Rainbow extended an emptied hoof to Spitfire.

“Quick. Empty out a jar of the most useless shit you brought and give it to me.”

Since this had to be important, Spitfire did as she was told by reaching into her saddle bag, undoing the lid, and pouring out an entire meal’s worth of oats.

As soon as Rainbow felt the oats hit her hoof, she flicked her fetlock back to empty her hoof and twisted her body toward Spitfire with a snarl.

“I mean, give me the fucking jar, genius!”

Insulted, Spitfire flared up with her forelegs extended in an exaggerated pose.

“How am I supposed to know what you wanted?! I’m the rookie here, remember?”

At least now that the jar was empty, Rainbow dusted off her hoof and then started to fly toward the icy peak. Sure, she was a little aggravated, but that was due more about her poor choice of words than anything else. That, and this was going to eat up more of their time.

“Yeah-yeah, whatever, rookie, come on. We’re supposed to report on anything out of the ordinary we see. So if we can, I want a sample of those clouds, if that’s what they really are. Maybe it’s something we can send to Cloudsdale or Twilight to look at.”

Spitfire recapped the empty jar and stashed it back in her saddlebag before attempting to catch up to Rainbow.

“Hey!” She shouted as she grew closer. “This is taking us way off course of our planned area to cover! What if Cadance needs us back early for something?!”

Flying towards the peak was a lengthy distance from where they were supposed to be, but Rainbow’s confidence kept her zeroed in on task. Although she wasn’t blind to what she was flying into, and the weather with the air was all wrong. It was so cold it hurt to breathe it in, and their breath was heavy as it fell with each exhale.

“Spitfire? You feeling a lot more drag all of a sudden?”

Lagging a bit behind, Spitfire flapped her wings harder, feeling the air cushioning under her wings growing thicker.

“Yeah! Air density has increased substantially, but the air temperature has dropped! What’s up with that? Colder temperatures compress the air and water molecules needed to create the difference in air pressure to create lift for flight. It should be warm air creating—”

“We lost the draft!” Rainbow shouted.

“What?!” Spitfire shouted back before noticing the change as well. “What the? Dash?! This doesn’t feel right! Why is the air so thick?! It’s hard to breathe here!”

All around them, the heavy air began to chill as random white sparkles pulled together before freefalling to the ground far below. They were small, distant from each other, but slowly becoming common enough to recognize.

“Snow?” Rainbow asked aloud and reared back to flutter in place.

Spitfire took notice of Rainbow’s abrupt stop and swooped up to take in the sight as well, which was both mundane for what it was but astonishing for how they witnessed it.

“Cloudless snow? Is that even possible?”

Rainbow reached with a hoof to catch a flake. One small flake, so bitterly cold, stuck to her hoof, shimmering like a precious gem, yet so out of place for where they were.

“It’s called Diamond Dust, but that requires warm, humid air dropping down into another below-freezing air supply… This… shouldn’t happen up here. Not like this.”

From behind Rainbow, the sound of a glass jar opening popped, along with the dangerous sounds of a rookie’s optimism.

“Hey! Your dark cloud is here! Come’ear, ya little rascal.”

Rainbow spun around to see Spitfire diving down below with the empty jar toward a small dark cloud that had strayed in below them. The cloud itself was still sinking lower and drifting further from the slope of the mountain cap. That wouldn’t have drawn much of her curiosity had it not been for the lack of a down draft she’d encountered earlier.

Taking another look around, she could see more of those dark clouds sinking down from all along the mountainside. Although, they didn’t simply follow along any channel of air. They seemed to force their movements over the rocks, ridges, and banks of snow, swirling to encompass every new ice-covered obstacle they crossed before moving on.

At the same time, much further out, what few white clouds they had passed along the way behind them to the south were drifting up and to the east, bound to the whims of rising currents.

She turned again to face the peak, then looked far to the west. More of the natural white clouds were doing the same. Only those clouds were rising and drifting to the south and some to the southeast the further she followed. Then, she looked to the north. Those clouds were rising and sailing to the west?

Another turn to her right showed the same pattern of eastern clouds rising to the north.

“Yeow!” Spitfire yelped from below, quickly fluttering away from the cloud and slapping off the dark puffs that clung to her. “That cloud is super cold. Dash, if we’re going to get a sample of one of these clouds, I’m going to need yo—HEY!”

With a sudden yank, Spitfire was ripped up and away from the dark cloud and accelerated up to the skyline by Rainbow.

“Forget the sample! We’re about to be caught in an arctic downburst!”

Having sailed into the lower altitudes and now flying on top of each other, the drag was interfering with both their flight attempts in the highly-dense air. Still, Spitfire needed clarification on what sounded impossible.

“Artic downburst?! There’s no such thing! Downburst only happens in Thunderstorms!”

As Rainbow and Spitfire tried to climb higher, more of the tiny sparkling flakes of snow began to descend at a faster rate. The more flakes descended, the more collided, flickering and snapping against each other, only to evaporate into a mist that hung in the freezing air around them.

“Shit!” Rainbow screamed. “It’s advanced weather theory! I barely understand it! Ice molecules left in stagnant air create enough friction to reach their melting point and evaporate! They can’t move apart fast enough to freeze again and can’t slow down enough to turn back to water and rain down. They all hang together like chain links until they collectively cool together and—”

Suddenly, feeling like every part of their bodies were being squeezed at once, they were dropped thirty feet before slowing their decline.

“Gah!” Rainbow grunted, having to breathe deep to inhale. “That! That fucking happens! Only faster!”

Confused and flying in a panic, Spitfire asked the most obvious question under labored breaths.

“This can’t be happening! You said it’s just a theory! RIGHT?!”

Rainbow did her best to hold back another shutter as more of the dark clouds built up and rolled down snow under them.

"It's the dark clouds! They're enchanted! No clouds are that cold on their own or move like they do! I’ve only seen Discord make clouds that can maneuver like these do! But these are sub-freezing! It’s hyper-cooling the air, warping the stagnant air around us! We’re out of time!”

Feeling the sinking air picking up speed again, Rainbow swooped down over Spitfire and wrapped her forelegs around the fiery Wonderbolt’s barrel.

“Hold on, and don’t let go!”

Spitfire placed her forelegs around Rainbow’s right foreleg before her head was thrust back into Rainbow’s chest by the sudden burst. They were flying back towards the shining empire but following the slope and traveling with the rapidly chilling winds dropping down.

Spitfire still didn’t understand what was happening, and their approach toward the snowy cliffs below added to her hysteria.

“Dash! Pull up!”

Rainbow only pushed herself harder, picking up speed as she tore through stagnant air, forming a cone of white as the pressure around her began to build.

“I can’t! We don’t have the ti—”

A crushing weight fell on the pair as the air plummeted down, sending Rainbow into a tailspin and rolling out of control. The downburst had begun its descent, pulling the dense air down with such a violent decline Rainbow couldn’t regain her control.

On the way down, pockets of air began to destabilize. Vapor reformed to water. Water became a mix of rain, snow, sleet, and hail, pelting and freezing to the two freefalling mares. In other locations, the unchecked friction between ice crystals created unstable electric charges that arced upon contact as the two passed by, delivering painful shocks as they continued their plunge.

It was a mini storm they had instantly fallen into, with gale-force winds driving them down, and now Spitfire was fighting against Rainbow, flailing and desperately trying to pull away.

“STOP! I DON’T WANNA DIE! LET ME OUT! DASH! STOP! LEMME GO!”

It was all Rainbow could do to hold onto the frantic mare. The winds were picking up, and the ground was approaching fast. There was only one hope Rainbow had to swing them into a safer path.

“CLOSE YOUR EYES! HOLD YOUR BREATH! OPEN YOUR WINGS! RIDE THE OUTFLOW!”

As Rainbow drew in a deep breath and outstretched her wings, she watched in dismay as Spitfire curled into a ball while still held in her grip.

Together, they dropped into a downflow of dark, freezing clouds that tore apart and mashed together with roaring winds.

Rainbow was blind. Raging winds over a hundred miles an hour whaled out in the savage storm to deafen the world around her. Every inch of exposed skin under her fur felt like frozen cat claws were digging in and racking over her body. The cold permeated through her hooves, into her eyes, her nose, and her ears. It was instant pain everywhere all at once that stiffened her exterior, save what little protection Spitfire’s body could sparsely shield her from as she fell victim to the whims of wherever the outflow of the downburst would throw them.

A flash of momentary light struck a red hugh through Rainbow's eyelids as they were clinched… frozen shut. The winds that had hollowed around her fell to the distance, with only the sounds of her numb, frozen wings whistling through the air, alerting her to their abrupt freedom.

Rainbow couldn't take in their situation, nor could she adjust her wings. Her feathers had iced over, along with her eyelids. Much of her exterior felt stiff, also covered with a thin layer of ice.

Now desperate for their spatial information, as well as finding out about the well-being of her fellow Wonderbolt, still balled up in her forelegs, Rainbow forced her lips apart.

It wasn't an easy task, the strips of flesh cracking and peeling, shards of ice cracking and flaking away painfully until her mouth popped open.

"Gah! Ahhh! Spitfire! Where are—”

"Dash, look out!"

WHAM!

Whatever Dash plowed into, it sent her toppling ass over forehead, separating her from the once tight hold she held on Spitfire. It was too thick to be a cloud but more permeable than a rock cliff or the dirt.

Whatever it was, she extended her wings to attempt to catch herself and hopefully regain her glide toward safety. Unfortunately, with each flap, she found her wings unresponsive and numb, minus the pain drilling into her back and joints as she tried to further control her wings in her forced moments of frozen blindness.

WHAM!

Again, she found herself hitting the cold, semipermeable mesh of granular, unforgiving powder. That had to be it. Snow. She hit the downslope of the mountain.

She was grounded.

“Dash!” Spitfire called out over the crunching of dense snow. “We gotta move. I’m sorry that I freaked out! Let me help you… Oh, no…”

Rainbow tried to stand but fell into Spitfire’s forelegs instead. There were so many questions to ask and answers to demand, but all she could do was moan in pain. More pressing were her wishes for Spitfire to stop dragging and yanking her further down the mountain, adding more injury to her battered body and aching wings.

Instead, Spitfire did all the talking, which was more frantic calls for alarm between her strained grunts.

“I’ll get you out of here, Dash! Ruh! We’ll get you patched up! Okay! You’ll be back to flying innnnn no time! Wonderbolt rescue training—Guh, won’t let you down! You’ll be fine!”

In between the continued grunts and grated parting of snow, the low hum of a brisk breeze began to pick up into a stronger howl. Fine grains of ice and snow whisked by, burning and stinging Rinbow’s skin and feathers, along with every pull along the frigid depths of the unforgiving white powder.

"No-No-No-No-No," Spitfire repeated over and over as the winds picked up around them, chilling the air closer to the painful freezing temperatures they just escaped. "Dash… I'm sorry, but I'm going to need you to trust me and hold tight."

Spitfire turned Rainbow around to drape the mare's forelegs around her neck, then reached down under her haunches to bring Rainbow's rear legs over her hips. Now, Rainbow was holding onto Spitfire with all four legs while Spitfire stood upright on her back hooves and held her forelegs around Rainbow's back.

Then, after taking a few steps back, Spitfire unfolded what remained of her wings. All but a dozen or so of her primary feathers snapped off and fell away in the steadily growing winds.

"We're going into a freefall, Dash. I can't fly us out of here, but if you hold tight, I think I can slow us down enough that I can absorb our fall when we land."

As much as it hurt to try and speak, Rainbow offered her assistance.

"I can help. Call out where you need me to steer us."

As Rainbow extended her wings, a stinging pain ran through where her primary feathers should have caught the wind. Instead of her secondaries, there was only numbness overshadowed by a dull ache. All of her greater and secondary coverts rattled and snapped, breaking off as the gusts in the winds picked up. Even the median and lesser coverts broke apart like brittle, colored leaves blown away in the changing of the seasons.

She could feel the damage of what she wasn't able to see. She began to know how bad her condition was, why Spitfire was carrying her, why neither of them could fly. Even still, her thoughts could only focus on one thing.

"My wings?"

Rainbow's realization came out as a weak crack of a cry, emboldening Spitfire to hold her even tighter as she took her last step back toward the ledge.

"Just the feathers, Dash. They'll grow back. Now hold tight."

Leaping further into the unknown, Spitfire dropped down into the mouth of a deep crevasse. Her wings opened to their maximum capacity, forcing her not to float or glide but spin erratically as she descended much faster than she had anticipated.

"Gnah!"

Instinct kicked in, and Spitfire jerked her right wing up while she pushed her left wing down and back with a steeper pitch to avoid crashing into a jagged wall of ice of the crevasse. A near miss, but the next spin created a trajectory into a splintered pillar of ice, where Spitfire had to rapidly switch the alignment of her wings, shedding more flakes of feathers in the process.

"Damnit!"

The whole experience was painful. Portions of skin meant to be protected were left exposed to the bitter cold air blowing past the raw flesh. Every turn and moment of increased acceleration tore off more feathers and skin. It was enough she finally drove herself into a wall, hoping for some semblance of a decline in speed.

"Don't let go! I need to slow us down!"

Three of her hooves hit the icy wall, and she did all she could to dig in and grip down, but there was nothing to hold onto. Her valid attempt did little to slow her decline, though one quick twist gave her a jumping point to fight against gravity's pull and gave her a new trajectory toward the darkened floor below.

"Coming in hot! Impact in three! Two! Wha—"

The bottom of the crevasse was a thin layer of dusted snow over an aged layer of hardened snow, impacted and frozen over the immovable tundra of rock and ice.

Spitfire tucked and rolled, never letting go of her fellow Wonderbolt, despite the pain until the tumbling stopped, and she knew they were still alive.

Relieved, Spitfire released Rainbow, rolled onto her back, and looked up to see how far they had fallen.

Sadly, what she saw wasn't very motivating.

"Awe, damn… We're at least eighty or more feet down from the surface. Climbing out is going to be hard when the storm passes, but at least we're safe from the—"

No sooner had Spitfire assumed their safety did she notice the dark clouds from before spilling over the edges.

"Shit-Shit-Shit! Dash! We're not out of this mess yet!"

With little else option, Spitfire reached out with her right wing and laid it over Rainbow's back and side to help guide her along. There were plenty of cracks and divots in the walls and flooring of this pit they had trapped themselves in. There had to be some additional shelter if they looked close enough.

Astonishingly enough, as Spitfire neared a particular crack along a poorly lit portion of one of the walls, she noticed a welcomed sight that was completely out of place in the snow.

"Hoof prints? Holy smokes! We're not the only idiots out here, Dash!"

A strong gust of icy wind picked up from behind them, kicking up sharp fragments of ice and dust. Spitfire turned back to see the dark clouds from before billowing over the edges in mass and drawing in closer.

"Shit! Run, Dash! I'll guide you in!"

The two ran side by side, nearly tripping over the slippery, uneven surface that would often give way when it was more snow than ice. It was a terrifying blind run for Rainbow until Spitfire pulled back on her wing to allow her down, then lowered her head, only to take both forehooves and shove her face first into a stone wall.

Rainbow bounced off the vertical stone barrier and shook her head clear of the stars spinning in her otherwise blind state. She tried to feel around for her surroundings, only finding the wall she had struck earlier, but could now hear spitfire heaving, grunting, and what sounded like kicking.

"Guh! Guh! Ha! Come on! Break!"

Over and over, Spitfire was bracing herself on her forelegs to kick high over the small entrance they found. It was hard to see from the dark clouds filling in from just beyond, but that was the problem. The darker the outside became, the closer the freezing clouds approached and the more danger they would be in.

If not for the soft blue light that briefly flashed from deeper within the interior of the mountain they retreated to, Spitfire would not have seen how deathly close the clouds had come.

"Fuck!"

With one last adrenaline-inspired kick, her two rear hooves struck with enough force to split off a section of ice that collapsed over their entrance… and potentially only exit.

"What did you do that for!" An unknown male angrily called out. "You could have brought the whole place down!"

Rightfully frightened and on high alert, Rainbow fanned her mangled wings out wide and braced herself against the wall while her ears searched for the location of the voice.

"Who's there?! Where are you?!"

Also still on alert for any danger but cautious to create any new problems, Spitfire ran over to Dash, laying her forehooves on her shoulders to hold her in place, and looked toward the new voice.

Not too far out, on a boulder larger than a house, stood a blue Earth pony glaring down at them. He was somewhat unthreatening looking, given his shorter stature and thinner frame. Kind of a big head for his unfit body, which was rather disarming, if not making his entire appearance even more out of place in this location. A little more disarming, if not concerning in other ways, was how he held the right side of his head with a hoof like he was fighting a headache.

Regardless of appearance, Spitfire had higher priorities than worrying about his frailty.

"Sorry about sealing off the exit there, but let me explain. My name is Spitfire. I'm a Wonderbolt sent out on a mission by Princess Cadance, and this is Rainbow Dash, a fellow Wondebolt and the Element of Loyalty. We were both injured while on our mission by some form of magically enchanted weather, making the clouds unnaturally cold to the point of doing instant and potentially lethal injury."

Having set the stage for who she was, who she was connected to, and how dangerous the situation was, she released Rainbow and set herself back down to all fours. This time, when speaking, she softened her tone as though she had just done this new stallion a favor.

"This deadly weather produces clouds that can move on their own over obstacles and freeze a pony in seconds. They were about to force their way inside before I was able to block them from getting to us."

The blue stallion turned his eyes to Rainbow, his eyes dilating upon finally recognizing her and his right hoof returning below him to give him greater stability.

"Ruh-Ray-Ray-Rainbow Dash? Thee Rainbow Dash? Here?"

The blue stallion raised his left forehoof as if to back away but then stopped and took another good look at the injured mare. After a second or two, and training his neck further downward to examine her current state, he came to a sudden realization.

"She looks like she could use a friend."

Spitfire blinked at the odd choice of words, if not out-of-place suggestion. Then again, how was she to know what level of mental stability this pony had after finding his way this far up into Mount Everhoof, presumably on his own?

"Yeah… That would be me. I'm her friend, but the rest of our friends are back at the palace with Princess Cadance in the Crystal Empire. We can't go out the way we came in. Is there another way out of here you can show us? I'm certain you will be rewarded for any help you give us."

The blue Earth pony appeared to dwell on a multitude of thoughts before answering with excited glee.

"Yes! I know of a few ways out! But… we need to be careful. I'm being hunted. That's why I was hiding in here. And there are a few other dangers other than those clouds you mentioned. They're not the only thing that can freeze a pony down here."

Spitfire was in the middle of trying to help Rainbow up an incline to the landing next to the boulder their new guide had been standing on when his warnings finally hit.

"Hunted! Hunted by what!? Who even are you!? Why are you up here, for that matter?!"

The blue stallion jumped down behind the boulder and slid down a path to a narrow opening that led deeper into the mountain and rooted inside, his voice quietly echoing out to them.

"My name is… Thorax. Yeah… The name doesn’t seem to go along with my cutie mark, does it? Kinda like me. Not really fitting in anywhere. I didn't have any friends back home, so I set out to find some. Something was telling me to head north to the Crystal Empire for a long time, but I didn't have what I needed to fit in or settle down. I don't know what finally convinced me to make the change. Then, one day, I saw my chance to leave and took it… But without any friends, money, or a place to hi… I mean, stay, I ended up traveling further north."

To say Spitfire's trust in this stallion was questionable was putting it mildly, but she had little else choice. However, she still couldn't so easily accept his story. Not after she'd heard enough recruits try to pass off their own sob stories in search of sympathy and more lenient treatment under her instruction.

"No friends, huh? What about family? You didn't have anyone you're related to in the area to reach out to?"

Suddenly, this new stallion was in front of Spitfire his eyes flared wide, and pupils narrowed thin.

"No!" He shouted but quickly retreated to clutch his head again and wince in pain. "Su-Sorry… My family is probably the biggest reason I left. My mother is vile, unloving, angry all the time. Nothing I did was ever good enough for her. Even my brothers and sisters are just as mean and selfish. They hate everything and everypony. I had to get away from them… Well… all but one of my brothers. He looked out for me, in his own way. Never let any of the others pic on or beat me up."

Spitfire finished helping Rainbow up, still trying to figure out how on the level this strange stallion was. His anger could have been a front, but it also came off as legitimately self-defensive. Plus, it sounded like he came from a terrible family, so perhaps his odd behavior and reclusive nature could be explained by his environment. Maybe he deserved a little sympathy.

“Well, at least you have one brother that treats you well.”

Such a claim wasn’t going to go unchallenged by this stallion, who let go of head forehead again and rolled his eyes before turning back to venture once more further into the mountain’s interior.

“Ha! Treated me better, for sure, but making sure that he was the only one who could call me names or hold me down and hit me in the face with my hoves while saying, ‘Why are you hitting yourself? Stop hitting yourself’… But he also did allow me to leave… or at least he didn’t stop me the first time.”

Rainbow, physically struggling, though oddly interested in the story, asked, “The first time?”

Not much farther ahead of the two mares, the stallion eyed up the few paths that lay before them. Somehow, this portion of the mountain’s interior provided some light from crystals glowing deep within the icy walls. His ears flicked and twitched, searching for some unknown threats.

“Yeah… The first time was when I first left home. He knew I never really fit in, and I didn’t have a reason to be sneaking out when he caught me leaving. He asked what I was doing, but I just asked him to allow me to leave. I told him that the rest of the world was calling out to me. That they were better off without me. That he would be better off without me. No more picking up my slack or looking weak trying to defend me… Then he said he heard something suspicious behind us and said if ever there was a time for me to leave… that I better not come crawling back.”

Somehow, Spitfire felt like she knew where this story was going.

“Lemme guess. Somepony in the family expected you to come crawling back, and they sent your brother to hunt you down and bring you home?”

“Yeah,” Thorax huffed with a bit of surprise before turning back to face his two new companions. “I guess that makes two groups that are hunting me. My brothers and sisters trying to bring me back home to mother, and who or whatever those cold ponies are. But we need to head this way. Quietly. My brother and the others are down the mountain a ways, but I doubt we’ll run into them. There’s a lot more danger upwards, and we're going to have to travel up that way before we can climb back down now that you blocked our exit.”

Thorax started to turn and took a step forward, only to freeze in place as another thought came to mind.

“Woah. Almost forgot. There’s this black stuff that’s pooled up around inside the mountain. It appeared a few days ago. No idea what it is, but… I suggest you don’t let it touch you. And definitely stay away from the big pools of it. That’s where the really mean cold ponies like to gather.”

The two mares finally caught up, but since Rainbow was still blind, she had some concerns to voice.

“Hold on. What do you know about the black ooze? Its not moving on it’s own and attacking ponies, is it?”

Thorax rubbed the right side of his face again, carefully examining the paths for them to travel.

“I don’t know what it is or where it came from. It did move when it first appeared a few days ago, but it hasn’t moved since then. Just the same, I know that whatever it touches, it crushes.”

Suddenly, Spitfire stopped and forced Rainbow to stand where she was.

“Hold up for a moment. Before we go anywhere, I need to take care of my friend here.”

Without warning or provocation, Thorax darted off, nimbly jumping from one ledge to any imperfection jutting out of the wall to bypass the natural slopes that would have been much easier to traverse.

“You do that! I’ll scout ahead! I’ll shout if there’s any danger! Stay safe, friends!”

Before Spitfire could question his reasoning or urgency, he had vanished behind a high cliff’s edge and was lost to her.

“Yeah! …Thanks, buddy!”

Switching to refocus on tending to Rainbow, Spitfire bit down on the left sleeve of her Wonderbolt uniform and pulled until the threads tore and the fabric parted from her shoulder. With another yank, the whole sleeve was removed, and she pulled the partial garment inside out and started to place it around Rainbow’s head like a blindfold.

“Cold Weather Rescue Training, Dash. Superficial freezing of limbs can be easily treated even after prolonged exposure. But deep tissue freezing and vitals like the eyes and inner airways need immediate attention.”

Upon contact with the new binding, Rainbow had already started feeling the benefits from the extra layer of protection and insulation. She didn’t need anymore reminders or even to see what was happening to know what Spitfire was doing to her. She knew the training and could recite it just as easily.

“Secure the cold weather victim to rescue warming devices or appropriate heat sources. If none are available, improvise with any sanitary, dry blankets, fabrics, or clothing available.”

Spitfire finished tying the sleeve around Rainbow. Not too tight to cause discomfort and not loose enough to slip off, though the sight was enough to remind her of how bad of a situation they were in.

“I don’t know if we can really trust this pony, Dash,” she quietly said to Rainbow. “But he might be our only way out of here.”

Rainbow gently rubbed a hoof over the makeshift blindfold. Everything still hurt. She was bitterly cold, sore, lost, and would have been scared out of her wits had it not been for the seasoned Wonderbolt at her side.

On second thought. She was angry, if not downright furious at herself.

“This is all my fault, Spits. You weren’t ready for this… but I… I didn’t plan for anything. Even after everything Justin tried to teach us. Everything Benny and Twilight trusted me with, I—”

Spitfire put a hoof on Rainbow’s shoulder and gave her a not-so-subtle shake.

“Hey! None of that defeatist mentality around me, newbie. Fine, we came out here under-prepared, but I fucked up, too… I… I was scared, Dash… Too scared to say anything. Too scared to act… Too distracted.”

Mournfully, Spitfire pulled back her hoof and sulked, turning her eyes to the cold, icy floor they both sat upon.

“My father was lost in a weather storm that appeared out of nowhere. I lost my nerve when I should have helped you.”

Rainbow’s sulkd quickly curled up into a forced smile, coming along with some much-needed bravado which may have been equally an imitation of the real thing.

“Would you listen to us? Complaining to each other like this is the end already? We’ve been through worse. This is… What? Some lost feathers, temporary blindness, bad weather, maybe a few bad pools of oil, a colt’s family drama, and some cold ponies, whatever those are, coming between us and our number one stud back at the castle. We got each other, some awesome friends waiting for us, and this new stallion who just wants to hang. We move slow, keep quiet, warm up, and once we find the exit, make a break for it. Then we’re home free… give or take the six to eight hours it will take us to make it back on hoof.”

Spitfire smirked at Rainbow’s sudden shift in attitude. Sure, the blind mare was probably talking tough and pushing optimism… but it sure sounded good to her.

“So you think we can trust him?”

Rainbow shrugged and smiled with a more genuine expression despite the pain she was in.

“He’s stuck between a family that sucks, other ponies he doesn’t like, and freezing murder clouds while living in a fucking ice cave. What’s not to trust?”

[Not much farther ahead, up away from Rainbow and Spitfire.]

Thorax sat rocking back and forth, clutching the right side of his face as more of his shell cracked and crumbled away with the dark oil slowly contracting down. His right ear was missing, and where the oily ooze had reached the dark fin on the back of his neck, the membrane tissue had split and corroded. Smaller cracks formed down his neck where the ooze had leaked down and fractured every inch of the once polished exterior.

All the while he rocked his body, a blue and white light flickered on and off around him as he moaned and grumbled to himself.

“Oww. Oww. Keep it together. These are nice ponies. You help them. They’ll help you. You’ll be friends. Rainbow Dash is the loyal one. She’ll have to stay loyal to a friend. Then they’ll get this ooze off emmm~”

Try as he might, Thorax was struggling to fight through the pain and hunkered over, this time holding his gut.

“I’m so hungry… Ung! Stupid Gaster looked so happy to try and capture me. And I know she fed recently. She didn’t need that love. I did. I would have been nice to that pony. They probably would have given me their love freely had I been given the chance.”

In that moment, that was all Thorax could think about. The anger built up again over how he’d been treated before holding the side of his head again.

“Why wouldn’t the cold ponies be nice to me? All I want is a friend, but every changeling hates me. Every pony is afraid of me. All I want is a friend. I’m so hungry. Why does this have to hurt so much?”

The more he fought with his desires and wrestled with his thoughts, the more pain began to win. Eventually, perhaps only tens of seconds, he slumped over, the pain giving way to one solution.

“That Spitfire pony called me buddy because I’m helping… I can’t be weak anymore.“

Though it saddened his heart and felt like it was betraying a part of himself that had always controlled him, Thorax stood up, somehow less in pain as he abandoned some former morals.

“If I want to make friends…” With little struggle, Thorax managed to reapply his minimalist blue pony form once more, furrowing his brow and failing to notice that his fangs had not fully retreated. “—then I’m going to have to make some enemies.”

Author's Note

Well, it's been a five-month dry spell for me not being able to upload anything. However, I'm bringing it back in spades this time with a lot of content. I wanted this return to come with something special, and for me, that meant some more visuals. Also, the whole backstory of the vines attacking Ponyville happened in the comics, which would have been a whole lot to try to fit in by trying to type it all out and reworking it as a narrative flashback. It was much easier to link to the YouTube video so you could watch and listen to the whole thing that way.

As for the story itself, there is sill tension between Twilight and Celestia. Even after the battle with Harmony and the dust has settled, Twilight still harbors some resentment, and Celestia feels like she's being treated unfairly. Both have merit to their claims and valid reasons, but time will tell how or if they choose to settle their differences.

Benny and Chris are taking more active roles with their positions and new responsibilities, and even Starlight has found herself thrown into the mix. Not that it's amounting to them making much progress, but it's still early. I'm sure they'll figure it all out before too much trouble is created with everything in play.

Meanwhile, Cerb still has his hands full with all the mares he's surrounded himself with. Fleetfoot is a wreck and Cadance is stuck balancing his needs with everyone else's on top of her own. That of course will likely only get worse when the find out what's happened to Rainbow Dash and Spitfire.

Speaking of Rainbow and Spits... While they were successful in one task, getting sidetracked to investigate Mount Everhoof proved to be a near-fatal mistake.

I had to do some research into Downburst. Pretty scary stuff, but they theoretically can't really happen in cold weather climates from what I was able to look up. Polar vortexes are one thing, but what they flew into was a whole other nightmare.

Then there were those dark enchanted clouds. Seems like they might be involved somehow. Gonna have to stick around to see what they're all about.

Of course, though. Can't end this wrapup without mentioning where the chapter left off.

Thorax... That poor changeling is hungry and hurting. It was supposed to be Spike who found him originally, but without the original Harmony there to guide all the events as The Words dictated, things are happening differently.

He'll have to rely on Rainbow and Spitfire to get out of that cave alive and find friendship and acceptance, but he has to avoid the other changelings hunting him down, the killer weather, revealing himself, his hunger taking over... and cold ponies?

What else will be discussed in Canterlot? What's Becky up to? Will Cerb have coffee or orange juice with breakfast? Who are the cold ponies?

You'll have to come back to find out next time to find out in Chapter 10: What Lies Below.

Also, acknowledgments to my story support:

The Fan Without a Face:

Editor for Chapters 01 - 03, 5, 7

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